OPS Budget Fiasco Starts At City Hall: BENN

It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. An adage that best describes the Ottawa Police Service project management approach.

The city’s auditor general presented her report on a recent audit of the project management processes of the OPS. It was neither flattering nor surprising. At least not surprising to those of us who follow Ottawa City Hall.

Over the course of my career as a finance executive, I learned that identifying patterns of behaviour is far more instructive than focusing on individual transgressions. Patterns highlight systemic weaknesses. Addressing the high-level problems that lead to individual failures is far more effective than playing whack-a-mole with a litany of individual challenges. For it is in the patterns that one can determine the contributing factors.